I opened my electric bill last week and gasped. I had thought that I was being particularly stingy (ask anyone in my household!) with electricity usage over the past year. I certainly didn't expect or deserve an oversized bill.

My mind quickly cast around for something to blame. Could rates be up? Maybe, but not enough to be big news. Well, it is cold and dark this time of year, so the lights are on more than usual. The furnace's electronic ignition fires more often because it's been bleepin cold. The television is on more in the winter and with all of the components these days, watching TV is a huge energy suck. The in-floor electric heat in the main bathroom is cranked up to keep toes and the dog warm. And I exercise on a machine indoors (again electric use) rather than risk running or walking outside on icy paths. But I was still surprised (no… hurt) to see the bill.

I decided to do something about it. I am betting on the truism that we manage what we measure. To that end, I had The Energy Detective (TED) installed on my electric panel to find out where I can cut back my usage and ultimately reduce my bill.

I horned in on Xcel Energy's Home Energy Pilot Project managed by Center for Energy and the Environment. They are installing TED in 450 homes (mostly in St. Paul) to see if customers will manage their electric use if they have real-time usage information. I am hopeful that this will make it possible for me to manage my usage on a daily basis, rather than at the time of opening a heart stopping bill.

TED is the equivalent of the miles per gallon or consumption readout on a Toyota Prius, which has spawned a whole breed of hyper-milers, who use the real-time mpg graphs to choke the last bit of mileage out of each drop of gas. Who knows, TED may just create a new breed of hyper-kilowatt-ers, who get a thrill out of doing the same with electricity in their homes (probably to the dismay of other family members).

The installation was no big deal. An electrician installed the metering device in my electrical panel and had it working within about 5 minutes. My biggest decision was where to locate the display unit. I decided to put it in my office because I spend the most time there and can conveniently obsess about my energy use.

Once TED was plugged in, it began giving me real time readings of my entire home's electric usage every second or so. I am able to view it in Kilowatt hours or in dollars for any given moment. It will also give me totals for the day or a full month.

Once I got the hang of how to read it, I ran around the house turning things on and off to see how various lights and appliances affected the readings. I was hoping for an interface that would tie into my computer so that I could see what device in my home was triggering my usage. But it didn't come with this basic model.

If you are interested in getting or exploring TED for your home, there is good information including "how to" videos at Energy Circle. There are other whole-house electricity monitors on the market, as well as, single device electricity monitors at Green Energy . The single device monitors are cheaper but won't handle appliances that can't be plugged into a 120 volt outlet, such as, an electric dryer or central air conditioning.

I plan to periodically and dutifully report back to you about how life has changed (or not) with TED. But know, that I am currently sitting in a dark room with only the glow of my computer screen since TED moved in. Stay tuned for TED updates…